This seafood boil contains fresh shrimp, lobster, clams, crab, potatoes, corn and sausage, all boiled in a flavorful broth. An impressive meal in one pot that’s perfect for feeding a crowd!
Fresh seafood never fails to delight, and when I’m really looking for a show stopping recipe I make bacon wrapped scallops, garlic butter shrimp or this fantastic seafood boil.
When I’m looking to enjoy some fresh shellfish, I often end up making a mixed seafood boil. It’s a great option because everything gets tossed into one pot, it’s fun to eat, and of course, it’s loaded with tons of flavor! It’s also a great way to make more expensive ingredients like lobster and crab stretch further, since they’re combined with less expensive items like corn and potatoes.
HOW DO YOU MAKE A SEAFOOD BOIL?
This recipe contains shrimp, lobster, crab, clams, potatoes, corn and sausage. All of the ingredients are boiled in a seasoned broth, then tossed in a little butter. Add a sprinkling of parsley and some lemon wedges, and dinner is served.
TIPS FOR SEAFOOD BOIL
- I recommend buying the biggest shrimp you can find for this recipe. I use 16-20 count jumbo shrimp.
- I used Maine lobster tails and Dungeness crab legs, but you can use other varieties including spiny lobster tail, snow crab or king crab.
- Fresh corn on the cob tastes best in this recipe – you can use white, yellow or bi-color corn.
- I use small Yukon gold potatoes, but red potatoes are also a great choice.
- You can use kielbasa or Andouille sausage. Andouille sausage can be a bit spicy, so I’d recommend using that variety if you prefer a little heat.
- The types of seafood listed in the recipe are just a suggestion – you can use other types such as mussels, scallops or even chunks of firm fish such as swordfish.
- Make sure you discard any clams that haven’t opened up before you serve your boil.
- I recommend serving your boil immediately, as seafood is highly perishable and tastes best when freshly cooked.
- You can use shell-on or peeled shrimp. I personally prefer peeled shrimp because they’re easier to eat.
HOW LONG TO BOIL SEAFOOD
The seafood ingredients in this recipe cook at different rates, so you’ll want to put the longest cooking items in the boil first, then add the others later on.
- Lobster: 8-12 minutes
- Clams: 5-10 minutes
- Crab: 6-8 minutes for pre-cooked crab, 20 minutes for raw crab
- Shrimp: 2-3 minutes
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SEAFOOD BOIL
A seafood boil can be served as-is, but some people prefer to add more side dishes to round out the meal. Some great options include a green salad, french or sourdough bread, coleslaw, or potato salad. I typically keep things simple with a loaf of garlic bread and sometimes a green veggie such as zucchini, asparagus or green beans.
You just can’t go wrong with a mixed boil, especially when you’re entertaining. The tender seafood pairs so well with the creamy potatoes, smoky sausage and sweet corn. Everyone will be coming back for more!
OTHER GREAT SEAFOOD RECIPES
Seafood Boil
Ingredients
- 3 lemons divided use
- 1/2 cup Old Bay seasoning plus more for garnish
- 8 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 onion peeled and cut into 6 pieces
- 1 pound small Yukon gold potatoes halved
- 4 ears corn on the cob cut into 3-4 inch pieces
- 3 lobster tails
- 1 pound clams scrubbed
- 1 pound crab legs pre-cooked
- 1 pound smoked sausage cut into 1 inch pieces, kielbasa or andouille are preferred
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined (leave tails on)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cut 2 of the lemons into quarters. Slice the remaining lemon into wedges and reserve the wedges for garnish.
- Fill a large pot with 14-16 cups of water. Place the 2 quartered lemons in the water along with the Old Bay seasoning, garlic and onion. Bring to a boil.
- Add the potatoes to the pot and cook for 8 minutes.
- Add the lobster tails and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the clams, crab, and corn, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Drain the seafood mixture from the pot, reserving 1 cup of the broth.
- Melt the butter in a small bowl and whisk it into the reserved broth. Pour the broth over the seafood mixture.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon wedges. Sprinkle with additional Old Bay seasoning to taste, then serve immediately.
Going to make this on Saturday for us and some friends!!! Would it also be a good idea to add a little wine to the broth? Which kind would be best? Thank you!!!!
Sure that’s fine. I would choose a dry white wine. -The Dinner At The Zoo Team
What kind of clams do you use. And do you just throw them in closed .
Littleneck or cherrystone clams are great! The clams should be closed, if they’re already open it means they’re dead and not safe to eat. Clams that stay shut after they’re cooked should also be discarded.
Love This Recipe! Easy Breezy and DELICIOUS! đŸ˜‹đŸ˜‹
Planning to use this recipe for approximately 50 people. I was able to toggle with the servings to account for that many people and hopefully I have enough seafood based off of those numbers! However, I have one question, I currently have the crab, clams, lobster and shrimp in the freezer. Do you suggest pulling these out the night before or the morning of to thaw, or throwing everything in frozen…sorry that might be a silly question.
Also, I will be following your suggestion on how long to boil everything for but I was curious if I should add extra time since there will be a much larger quantity?
Thank you!!
Yes I would definitely thaw the seafood first! It really depends on your pot size, I assume you’re using multiple pots? If there’s plenty of room for the water to circulate the cook time wouldn’t change.
Our friend loaned us a 80 quart stock pot. Do you suggest using two smaller pots or just the one large pot.
I have never done this before, if your shellfish is frozen do you thaw it before cooking
Yes it’s better to thaw it!
I made this last night for my husband and I. No crab or clams, but did use lobster tails and shrimp. We used salt potatoes, (small white potatoes from upstate NY), and everything came out delicious! I did cut back the Old Bay to a little over 1/4 cup. We really enjoyed this and are having leftovers tonight! Next time I’m adding snow crab. Yum! Thank you for the recipe!
How big of a pot do you recommend for this recipe?
A 12 quart stock pot will work great!
Recipe excellent!
Crazy, maybe even ignorant question. How do you eat this? Especially if entertaining? Sorry, but I never had it in my 67 years, but it sounds delish. I live near the coast of NH/MA, so could certainly find fresh fixins.
You can either serve it in individual bowls or some people spread it out on a large sheet pan or table with paper on top for people to serve themselves. It’s good to have shellfish cracking tools on hand, plenty of napkins and a bucket for discarded shells!
after adding an ingredient do you wait until the water comes to a boil before adding another seafood item?
You just need to keep track of the cook time before you add the next item, the water should pretty much stay boiling the whole time on its own unless you’re adding something frozen.
We followed this like 90% today and it was sooo good.
Perfect outcome last night by following this recipe. Thank you very much for posting it. We did not have lobster or clams since we shopped before finding your recipe, but we will certainly add them next time. One other small “personalization” of ours was to use 1/4 cup of Old Bay Seasoning and 1/4 cup of Seafood Boil. We are looking forward to more delicious seafood recipes from you.
I hope it’s not a dumb question but wouldn’t the leftover broth work as a brothy side soup? It feels wrong to drain so much but maybe there’s a reason too.
You can choose to do what you want with the leftover broth, my concern is that it wouldn’t have enough flavor to stand alone as a soup because the seafood only cooks in it for a short period of time.
What size pot do you recommend? Thanks!
I recommend using a 10 or 12 quart pot!
This is a silly question but do I take out the lobster after 5 min to replace them with the items in step 5 or am I just adding the rest of the ingredients?
You just keep adding!
Can I use russet potatoes instead?
Yes that’s fine!
Hi! I’m making this tomorrow and wanted to double check that you don’t add any salt.
Thanks!
I do not add extra salt, but you can if you prefer!
Amazing
Nice recipes I love them all
I’m not a fan of crab legs so I increased the clams and shrimp to 1.5 pound each. Used andoullie sausage which was great. Next time I will brown the sausage and throw it in just before serving. This is a fantastic recipe, any tweaks are just personal taste!
Totally making this for my summer party this year. What type of onion do you use and also do you use salted or unsalted butter? Thanks.
I use a yellow onion and salted butter.
I use a steam pot and just enough water to cover the bottom of the pot so bother burns. I add just a little more to the cooking time but basically my recipe is the same. I’ve made it several times and it’s always been delicious!! Thanks for all the great tips, etc!!!